TADAO ANDO WINS AIA GOLD MEDAL

Japanese architect Tadao Ando, Hon. FAIA, has received the 2002 Gold Medal award from the American Institute of Architects. This is the highest honor the AIA confers on an individual, recognizing a significant body of work that has had a lasting influence on the theory and practice of architecture. The AIA also named the Atlanta firm Thompson, Ventulett, Stainback & Associates, Inc., as recipient of the 2002 Architecture Firm Award, which honors a practice that has produced distinguished architecture consistently for at least 10 years. Next week we'll look at the buildings that have earned these accolades.

A CONTROVERSIAL RESTORATION

Boldt Castle, on one of the Thousand Islands of the St. Lawrence River, on the border between New York and Ontario, ranks among the five or ten largest and most prominent houses in the United States. The seven-story granite structure is comparable in size and grandeur to the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina and Hearst Castle in California. And yet the house has been the center of controversy between those who want it to reflect its true history and those who want to "improve" it as a tourist attraction. Architectural historian Paul Malo will weigh in with the results of his research into the castle's story.

CLIMBING STAIRCASES THROUGH HISTORY

Staircases are one of the oldest and most fascinating of building elements. They have evolved through history to reflect prevailing philosophies and symbolic languages as well as current styles and technologies. Architects have often focused a disproportionate amount of design attention on these useful yet beautiful structures, as indicated by a recent survey by Czech-born British architect Eva Jiricna. As she will reveal next week, "the staircase might only be the salt added to the architectural stew, but without it there would be no flavor to speak of."